When You Come Round You'll Make Me Whole
by swim-with-sharks
Summary: She renewed her efforts to keep his heart beating, silently praying to a God she had never truly believed in, begging for a miracle. Emma/Graham Oneshot.


**A/N:** I wasn't going to write for this fandom, at least not yet. But Graham's death had me crying like a baby and then typing like a maniac, because dammit, these two deserved a happy ending. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this and please let me know what you think. Constructive criticism is always welcome :)

Disclaimer: I obviously don't own Once Upon A Time in any way, shape or form. If I did, all the good guys would have happy endings- which means Graham would still be very much alive.

**_~EG~_**

"I remember."

The pure awe in his voice made her stomach do a little summersault. She thought of fairytales and curses and happy endings, of things she'd refused to believe in despite Henry's insistence, and hastily pushed those thoughts aside. "You remember what?"

A single tear slid down his cheek as his hands rose to cup her face. Emma couldn't help but smile when Graham's eyes met hers with what could only be described as fascination.

"Thank you." He said that, just that, and leant in to kiss her. He knew he'd have to tell her everything, to share all the details her practical mind would struggle to deny, but not now, not yet. They had time. All the time in the world.

**_~EG~_**

Mary Margaret poured herself a cup of tea, ready to curl up on the couch with a book. She had intended to vent her frustrations with Emma, maybe uncork a bottle of wine and toast to their horrible love lives, but that plan had died the second she'd gotten home to Emma's voice on the answering machine saying she'd be working late tonight.

Unless Mary Margaret was very mistaken, that meant only one of them had a crappy love life now.

She smiled, arranging the cup and a vase with flowers on a tray. Maybe her friend would be letting some of that wall down sooner rather than later. In the short time they had known each other, Mary Margaret had grown to care about Emma the way she would about her own family. She wished her every bit of happiness in the world.

A knock on the door startled her, made her roll her eyes in annoyance. She hesitated, hoping it wasn't Dr. Whale. Maybe she was not very good at this one night stand thing, but that didn't mean she intended to get seriously involved with a man who'd check out the waitresses on a first date. She hoped it wasn't David either. Or…

"Emma? Miss Blanchard?"

Okay, _that_ she wasn't expecting.

"Henry? What are you doing here so late?" She pulled the door open, stared down at the kid with stern eyes. "Does your mother know where you are?"

"Are you kidding? She'd freak. I wanted to see my mom."

"She's not here."

"Is she with the Sheriff? Did he finally find his heart?"

She sighed, long-suffering. "Oh, Henry. Graham already _has_ a heart."

"No, he doesn't. It's all part of the curse."

"Henry," Mary Margaret took a deep breath, struggled to find the right words. "I know you think you're helping us, but this _has_ to end. We are not fairytale characters. I am not Snow White and Graham is not…" she dug through her mind for the character whose heart is ripped out. "The Huntsman."

"Yes, yes you are! And if he doesn't find his heart soon, the Evil Queen will. We have to stop her."

"Henry! Your mother is not the Evil Queen!"

He repressed a groan, not without difficulty. Why didn't anyone believe him? The evidence was right in front of them! "Fine. Don't believe me. I'm going to the Sheriff's house."

"Oh, no, you're not. It's almost ten o'clock on a school night. You should be home in bed."

"And you should be in the palace with Prince Charming."

She was too tired to keep arguing and she was not about to let a ten year old wander alone at night. So Mary Margaret made her choice. "Let me get my jacket, I'm going with you."

**_~EG~_**

Things were spinning out of control. Regina pressed her eyes shut, a hand placed protectively against her heart. It was not supposed to be like this, she thought. She was not supposed to lose. Not her power, not her son, not her lover.

There was still time, she told herself. And Graham would pay, and pay dearly, for betraying her. As would Emma Swan. But there were more pressing issues at hand now. If Graham told Emma, if he told _anyone_ what he'd remembered she would have a much bigger problem in her hands.

She walked into the vault, pushed the coffin aside. There they were, all the hearts- all _her_ hearts. They belonged to her now, just like everyone in this town did. Her toys. Her pets. Hers.

It hurt, she had to admit, it hurt to locate the drawer that sheltered Graham's heart and open it, knowing that with every move she made she was one moment closer to losing him completely. She ignored the little voice in the back of her mind whispering she had never really had him, that he had never been truly hers. She ignored it, just like she ignored the way the void inside of her seemed to grow with every passing day.

Regina squared her jaw, seized the heart glistening in the box and squeezed.

**_~EG~_**

His mouth was inches away from hers now, curved in a smile she was fully aware of reciprocating. She could feel the calming beat of his heart under her palm, the not-at-all steady rhythm of it, which told her her earlier words had been wrong: what Graham had been looking to feel he _was_ feeling it with her.

It exhilarated her.

Their lips were almost touching now, expectation rushing through both of their bodies. It was with a blank shock that she felt him tense, heard him groan.

Watched him collapse.

Emma fell to her knees, calling his name desperately and shaking his now motionless form as her world, once again, came crashing down around her.

**_~EG~_**

"Henry, there's no one in here."

Mary Margaret ran her fingers through her short cap of hair, frustrated and tired and angry- with herself. For a moment, just a second really, a part of her had wondered if maybe, just maybe, there was _some_ foundation to the kid's words, to his fantastic theory of all of them being different people. If perhaps Graham had been right and it really was impossible for an entire town to forget all their first meetings.

"He should be here. Where else would he be?"

"Okay, so maybe he had a date."

"Miss Blanchard, _please_. My mother wasn't home either. She never gets home so late. There has to be a reason she is late tonight."

"For God's sake, Henry…"

"Is everything okay here?" Mr. Gold appeared from what appeared to be nowhere, a small smile grazing his lips.

"Mr. Gold, hello. Yes, everything's fine."

"The sheriff isn't here, you know. I saw him with Miss Swan earlier tonight, they were chasing a wolf."

Mary Margaret did not care for the trail of shivers currently making its way down her spine. Unconsciously, she placed a protective hand on Henry's shoulder, her voice coming out in a tangled mess of words. "I'm sorry, did you just say _a wolf_?"

"Indeed. It was a little surprising, I admit, but I was glad to see that Sheriff Graham found what he was looking for."

"Where were they?"

He looked down, smiled at Henry. The boy had a quick, agile mind. It had taken years until that mind had finally set things in motion, but it was happening now. Whatever happened tonight, there was no turning back. Turmoil was around the corner, one way or another.

Oh, how it delighted him.

"They were heading to the cemetery, I believe. However…" His words died on his tongue when Henry started running.

"Henry! Come back here right now!" Mary Margaret- it had taken him a few years to finally get used to call her that- bared her teeth in frustration and took off after the kid. "Thank you, Mr. Gold," was the last thing he heard her say before they both disappeared.

**~EG~**

"Graham, stay with me. Do you hear me? Stay with me." Emma hit him in the chest, over and over again, dampening his shirt with the tears she didn't know she was crying. Her hands were shaking violently, but she gritted her teeth and tried to remember the basics of CPR she'd learned back in high school. "No, _stay with me_. Don't you dare die on me, do you hear me? Graham!"

But he couldn't hear her. Sprawled out on the floor, eyes closed, Graham was only aware of the pain finally receding. His heart, the heart he didn't know how was in his chest, pounded less often and with less strength. His lips parted, but "Emma" was the only word he could muster before it all went black.

**_~EG~_**

"Henry, where are we going?" Breathless, Mary Margaret tried to keep up with his frantic race.

"I know where they are!"

"I'd appreciate if you shared that knowledge with me!"

He didn't slow down, simply yelled louder as he kept running. "My mother's father is buried in a special vault in the cemetery. I didn't remember the symbol until now."

"What symbol?"

"The Evil Queen symbol. The place where she keeps all her hearts. I didn't remember it when I showed it to the Sheriff today."

"You brought Graham to the cemetery?"

"No, not here. In the book."

Oh, _God_, that book. "Henry…"

"Talk sense into me later, we have to hurry!"

They arrived at the vault minutes later, breathing fast and irregular and hearts pounding. Henry didn't hesitate.

"It's open. Let's go inside."

"Henry? Mary Margaret? What are you doing here?" Archie jogged to catch up with them, his dog running beside him.

"Archie, hi. It's Henry, he thinks…"

"Come on in!"

"Henry, this is crazy. It's…" Her eyes widened in shock when she saw the secret cellar. "Oh. Oh, my God."

"What are we doing here?" Archie looked from woman to child. "Mary Margaret? Henry?"

Henry didn't bother to answer. He simply descended the stairs.

"Archie, I… We have to go with him. I think… I think he may be right."

To his credit, Archie simply blinked. If he thought she had gone crazy, he didn't say a word about it. He merely nodded and walked downstairs after Henry.

**_~EG~_**

Graham was dying. The certainty of that broke Emma's heart- again- before igniting her fury. _No_. He was _not_ going to die. She wasn't going to let him. She renewed her efforts to keep his heart beating, silently praying to a God she had never truly believed in, begging for a miracle.

**_~EG~_**

Archie stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the Mayor, her face set in a furious mask, squeezing something red and magnificently bright. By his side, Mary Margaret gasped loudly, hands flying to her heart.

It would be hard to say who looked the most surprised.

"What are you doing here? This is my father's grave."

"Henry was right," Mary Margaret's voice was low, disbelieving. "He was right all along."

"Excuse me?"

"It's not possible, is it? But it's true."

Regina's grasp loosened slightly. Her eyebrows rose curiously, giving her the mildly bored appearance she was struggling to convey. "Are you telling me you believe my son's fairytale fantasies? If so, maybe you could use Dr. Hopper's help more than he does."

"Except that Dr. Hopper believes them, too," Archie was shaken, a little pale, but his voice never wavered. "The second Emma Swan got to this town things started changing- just like Henry said they would. The clock starts ticking, crickets pop up out of nowhere, there are earthquakes. And you, Madam Mayor, are now holding something important, aren't you? Or you wouldn't be this scared."

"Oh, please. I am not scared. What I am is shocked to find out how impressionable adults can be. Just like children, apparently."

"It's Graham's heart, isn't it?" Mary Margaret's eyes narrowed. Panic was building inside of her. "He's remembering, and you can't have that."

"Think long and hard before you do something you might regret," Archie warned, his mind searching frantically for a way to save his friend. "Just give him his heart back and we can put this behind us."

"You will stop treating my son, Dr. Hopper. I no longer trust your professional instincts."

"Stop denying it," Mary Margaret took a step forward, then stopped with her hands up when Regina squeezed tighter. "You are either what Henry says you are or you're in some kind of sect. Either way, it doesn't look good for you."

"For me? It doesn't look good for me?" Regina threw her head back and laughed. "I only have to squeeze and Graham will be dead in a matter of seconds. I run this town. People will believe whatever it is I say, Miss Blanchard. Or should I say Snow White?"

"It _is_ true then. How? Why?"

"How? A friend owed me a favor. Why? You obviously don't remember, dear, but you happened to betray me. That betrayal cost me dearly."

Mary Margaret was dazed, a dozen different thoughts crossing her mind. But one thought in particular was coming through loud and clear: _Keep her talking. Buy some time._

"How did I do that?"

"Oh, my dear, we both know you read all about it in that little book of yours. Let's save us both the trouble of going into it, shall we?"

"David. He's my husband."

"Was. He's Kathryn's husband now. I was under the impression that he chose her over you, didn't he?"

"No. No, he chose honor over me. And he…" Mary Margaret went dead still, her already pale face turning sheet-white. Her eyes brimmed with unshed tears. "Oh God. Oh, my God. Emma. She's… She is..."

"Your daughter, yes. Just as remarkably foolish as her mother. You never did know when to give up, Snow."

"You stole 28 years from us. You made my daughter grow up thinking her parents didn't love her."

"If it makes you feel better, I didn't intend to let her live at all," Regina's brow furrowed in annoyance. "But to make her grow up alone in a world like this… I suppose that wasn't so bad, as far as revenge goes. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to kill a man."

Archie lounged forward, only to be thrown away like a rag doll. Mary Margaret followed. She hit her head hard against the wall, fell on the floor in a mess of limbs and flesh. She managed to sit up, her head throbbing so badly she could barely see. But not bad enough that she couldn't see what happened next.

Henry had sneaked up on Regina and slapped the heart out of her hand.

She raised a hand, ready to strike- and couldn't. "You. My own son, of all people."

He was shaking- but not out of fear. Mary Margaret wondered if a small part of him hadn't sheltered some hope of being wrong, of having a normal mother who loved him and whose biggest crime was being so focused on her job.

"Come here, Henry," she stood up, hissing a curse when pain swam through her system. Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to stand between the woman and the kid. She risked a glance at Archie, saw with relief that he had managed to reach the heart and was now holding it carefully with both hands. "We'll make it right again. We'll break this curse."

"Are you really that naïve, darling? I'm the only one who possesses magic in this world. I'm the only one who knows what it takes to give you your little fairytale world back."

She was right, of course. But Mary Margaret simply shook her head. "It'll take time. We'll do it anyway."

"It'll be a pleasure to watch you hit your heads against a wall, dear. But in the meantime…" Fog arose in the cellar, swirling around Regina's body, clouding Mary Margaret's vision. Surrounding Henry with her arms, she closed her eyes and prayed this was a battle they would win someday.

**_~EG~_**

Graham's head jerked up, a fit of coughing overpowering him. Tears clouded Emma's vision as she took his hand in hers and felt his pulse, erratic but _there_. She smiled through them when he opened red rimmed eyes and looked at her. He looked exhausted, but he was alive.

"Emma?"

"Shh. I'm here. Don't speak yet."

"Wh- what happened?"

_You almost died_, she thought, but couldn't bring herself to say it out loud. "I don't know. You just crumbled, I..."

He closed his eyes again. He took a deep breath, two, and tried to organize his thoughts. Memories came rushing back in a chaos of images and sounds, one after another, and suddenly he knew. His eyes flew open again. "Regina."

"What?"

"It was Regina. She was… She has… God, my head." He pressed a hand to it, leaned into Emma's body when she shifted on the floor to hold him. "I need some water."

"I'll bring it to you," still she waited, reluctant to leave him alone even for five seconds. "Graham, we have to get you to the hospital."

"No. No hospitals," he met her gaze directly. "You have to trust me with this. I can't go to the hospital."

She fought between doing what he wanted and what she needed. "Okay. Okay, fine. But if you feel bad again, you're going to the hospital, even if I have to carry you myself. I'll bring you some water."

He stayed there, lying on the office floor for another minute until he was sure he could risk moving, before getting on his hands and knees. Emma found him standing by the window, looking out into the night.

"You should sit."

"I'm fine."

"Graham, you just…" She broke off when he turned to look at her, his dark eyes holding an intensity she'd never seen before. She had the vague feeling she should be the one doing the sitting now.

"How flexible is your mind, Emma?"

"What? What does that have to do with you collapsing in my arms?"

"Everything. It has everything to do with it."

She shook her head, baffled. "Flexible enough, I guess. Why?"

"I told you I remembered."

"Yes, you did. But you didn't tell me what you remembered."

How do you tell your would-be-girlfriend that you're a fairytale character? Graham opted for the direct approach. "Henry was right. I haven't always been Graham. Up until 28 years ago I was someone else."

"Excuse me?"

"I was a huntsman. I was hired by the Queen to kill Snow White."

"Graham, not you too. Listen, I know this was a tough night for you, maybe…"

"I'm not hallucinating, okay? I was going to kill her, bring her heart to the Queen- but I couldn't. She was too kind, too honorable. I tried to fool Regina but she wouldn't fall for it. So she took my heart instead."

"You need to stop."

"I know it's a lot to take in. But it's true. Mary Margaret is Snow White. David Nolan is Prince James. And they are your parents."

"But what… How…"

"They sent you over to this world to protect you from the curse. I don't know much about it, I'm telling you what I heard from the Queen's men. They wanted you to have your best chance."

"Graham…"

"I started having flashbacks yesterday, right after we kissed. Now I remember all of it."

"Oh, my God," she had to sit. Her legs didn't feel like supporting her anymore. "You're serious."

He knelt down in front of her, taking her face in his hands. "Earlier, when I had the attack… I know it was Regina. She wouldn't let me remember and live, not any more than she'd let me walk away from her. She must still have my heart."

"But why just make you suffer? Why not kill you then?"

"I don't know. I don't understand, but it's the only thing that makes sense. Emma," he added, brushing a tear away from her face. "I need you to believe me."

"I do," her eyes widened when she heard her own words, when she realized they were true. "I don't understand it, but I believe you."

Graham smiled softly, with that same awed expression he'd had when he'd remembered his past life. He leaned forward, let his forehead rest against hers. "Thank you. Not just for helping me remember. But for helping me feel again."

She took his hands, let their fingers intertwine. Tears were threatening to spill again. She blinked them away furiously, searching through her mind for the right words to say. "Did you just hear that?"

"What?"

Emma grinned. With a sigh, she slid her hands around his neck and brought his mouth down to hers. "Nothing. I just thought I heard a wall crumbling. "


End file.
